For me, high school was a time of major ups and downs. It was a time of both self discovery and self doubt, during which I finally began to understand who I am as a person. Through tragedy, I learned how one should never take what they have for granted. Sudden exposure to new people and new ideas forced me to come out of my shell and better understand how to see things from another person’s perspective. Unfortunately, dull curriculum and uninspiring teachers caused me to pick up some less-than-desirable academic habits. Still, I was able to use this frustration with school to fuel my desire to do well and get into a good college.
Ninth grade was a fairly uneventful year. Classes were still painfully easy, and I was starting to care less and less about school. I was procrastinating on my work, doing half-hearted work at the last minute, but still getting straight A’s. It was becoming a bad habit. I just dreaded going to school. The excitement of being in a new school had worn off quickly, and I was once again bored of going to the brick prison every day to do bland work and be surrounded by unfriendly faces.
But in tenth grade, something changed. A friend of mine had introduced me to some friends of hers, a group of 11th graders, during lunch one day. As we talked more, I started to become assimilated into the group. School suddenly felt like a less intimidating place. As I became closer to some of these people, they started to introduce me to more of their friends. I started getting invited to get-togethers outside of school. I finally felt somewhat accepted. It gave me a bit more confidence than I had before. All of the sudden social interaction exposed me to new people and ideas, and forced me to look at the world with a more open mind. I was learning to adapt to all kinds of new situations. Both of these helped me academically as well, as I was able to adapt more quickly to different teaching styles and look at my assignments from many different perspectives.
But tenth grade was also a year of tragedy. Half way through the year, my band’s conductor, Mr. Rakowski, passed away without warning. It was a devastating experience. He had been my conductor since I was in the seventh grade, and we had become somewhat close. He was a great teacher who was always willing to give up his lunch period to help a student in need of some extra help. He had done so many times to help me with the bass guitar, an instrument which I was relatively new to and I needed help learning my parts in for Jazz Band (which Mr. Rakowski also conducted). It wasn’t until he was gone that I truly realized how much he had influenced me. He showed me just how influential a teacher could be. It is because of Mr. Rakowski and all that he taught me that I chose to pursue a career in Music Education. I want to someday be able to have the influence on children that he had on me, and help them to realize their potential as musicians.
The rest of my high school years was a rather lack-luster experience. Mr. Rakowski’s replacement proved to be less than satisfactory, and the ensembles I had once enjoyed so much were becoming frustrating. With even my favorite classes having lost their appeal, school was once again feeling like a prison. My friends had graduated, and I was alone again. I spent more time in class drawing in my notebooks than actually taking notes, and I rarely studied. My brother had shocked the family by joining the army, and I was feeling depressed.
But over the summer between eleventh and twelfth grade, I suddenly became newly inspired. After attending a weeklong band camp at SUNY Fredonia, I was exposed to college life for the first time. I spent the week living in a dorm, going to classes each day, and discovering just how competitive my instrument (the flute) is on the college level. I loved the freedom and responsibility of college life, and with my senior year approaching, the time to apply was drawing near. My eagerness to go to college was enhanced by my strong dislike of high school. These combined feelings caused me to develop a whole new work ethic. Armed with a brand new flute and enrolled in four AP classes, I met senior year with a new drive to succeed.
The AP classes I took senior year all helped me to develop the skills I would need for college. AP Music Theory, the class I looked forward to every day, taught me the some of the many skills I would need as a music major. AP Calculus gave me a much needed challenge, easily earning the title of the most difficult class I have ever taken in my career as a student so far. It helped me to fight the laziness that I had developed over the rest of my time at Miller Place High School, and I began studying more and procrastinating less. My work payed off, and I earned a score of 5/5 on the AP test. AP English and AP Psychology were both very heavy on reading and analysis, and helped me greatly improve my skills in both areas.
Eventually my work payed off. That June I graduated, ranked 13th out of my class of 247 kids. With a fresh start in a better learning environment, my dislike for school has faded, and I’m breaking my bad habits (saving everything for the last minute, not putting everything I’ve got into my work). As I become closer to reaching my goal of becoming a music educator, I’ve become more motivated in my work, and I hope to put the skills I learned in high school to good use.
Ninth grade was a fairly uneventful year. Classes were still painfully easy, and I was starting to care less and less about school. I was procrastinating on my work, doing half-hearted work at the last minute, but still getting straight A’s. It was becoming a bad habit. I just dreaded going to school. The excitement of being in a new school had worn off quickly, and I was once again bored of going to the brick prison every day to do bland work and be surrounded by unfriendly faces.
But in tenth grade, something changed. A friend of mine had introduced me to some friends of hers, a group of 11th graders, during lunch one day. As we talked more, I started to become assimilated into the group. School suddenly felt like a less intimidating place. As I became closer to some of these people, they started to introduce me to more of their friends. I started getting invited to get-togethers outside of school. I finally felt somewhat accepted. It gave me a bit more confidence than I had before. All of the sudden social interaction exposed me to new people and ideas, and forced me to look at the world with a more open mind. I was learning to adapt to all kinds of new situations. Both of these helped me academically as well, as I was able to adapt more quickly to different teaching styles and look at my assignments from many different perspectives.
But tenth grade was also a year of tragedy. Half way through the year, my band’s conductor, Mr. Rakowski, passed away without warning. It was a devastating experience. He had been my conductor since I was in the seventh grade, and we had become somewhat close. He was a great teacher who was always willing to give up his lunch period to help a student in need of some extra help. He had done so many times to help me with the bass guitar, an instrument which I was relatively new to and I needed help learning my parts in for Jazz Band (which Mr. Rakowski also conducted). It wasn’t until he was gone that I truly realized how much he had influenced me. He showed me just how influential a teacher could be. It is because of Mr. Rakowski and all that he taught me that I chose to pursue a career in Music Education. I want to someday be able to have the influence on children that he had on me, and help them to realize their potential as musicians.
The rest of my high school years was a rather lack-luster experience. Mr. Rakowski’s replacement proved to be less than satisfactory, and the ensembles I had once enjoyed so much were becoming frustrating. With even my favorite classes having lost their appeal, school was once again feeling like a prison. My friends had graduated, and I was alone again. I spent more time in class drawing in my notebooks than actually taking notes, and I rarely studied. My brother had shocked the family by joining the army, and I was feeling depressed.
But over the summer between eleventh and twelfth grade, I suddenly became newly inspired. After attending a weeklong band camp at SUNY Fredonia, I was exposed to college life for the first time. I spent the week living in a dorm, going to classes each day, and discovering just how competitive my instrument (the flute) is on the college level. I loved the freedom and responsibility of college life, and with my senior year approaching, the time to apply was drawing near. My eagerness to go to college was enhanced by my strong dislike of high school. These combined feelings caused me to develop a whole new work ethic. Armed with a brand new flute and enrolled in four AP classes, I met senior year with a new drive to succeed.
The AP classes I took senior year all helped me to develop the skills I would need for college. AP Music Theory, the class I looked forward to every day, taught me the some of the many skills I would need as a music major. AP Calculus gave me a much needed challenge, easily earning the title of the most difficult class I have ever taken in my career as a student so far. It helped me to fight the laziness that I had developed over the rest of my time at Miller Place High School, and I began studying more and procrastinating less. My work payed off, and I earned a score of 5/5 on the AP test. AP English and AP Psychology were both very heavy on reading and analysis, and helped me greatly improve my skills in both areas.
Eventually my work payed off. That June I graduated, ranked 13th out of my class of 247 kids. With a fresh start in a better learning environment, my dislike for school has faded, and I’m breaking my bad habits (saving everything for the last minute, not putting everything I’ve got into my work). As I become closer to reaching my goal of becoming a music educator, I’ve become more motivated in my work, and I hope to put the skills I learned in high school to good use.